M13/05
To: Management Authorities of Post-primary Schools
Civic, Social and Political Education (CSPE)
The Minister for Education and Science is pleased to announce the publication of revised guidelines for the teaching of Civic, Social and Political Education (CSPE) which will be issued to schools shortly. This publication brings together, in a single volume, many of the support documents used at in-service training along with numerous examples of practices in schools that have been found to contribute to the successful implementation of CSPE. Also included is a comprehensive guide to Action Projects and assessment.
Research carried out by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) and consultation with principals and teachers indicates that the implementation of CSPE benefits when it is possible for school managements to:
· include teachers’ interest in CSPE as one of the main criteria used when selecting teachers to teach the subject
· allocate teachers of CSPE to those class groups to whom they also teach another subject
· ensure, as far as possible, that each class group is assigned the same teacher of CSPE, particularly in second year and third year, so as to allow continuity in programme planning and to facilitate the organisation of Action Projects
· avoid placing the one CSPE period per week on the timetable at a time/on a day when that period may be lost on a regular basis due to interruptions in the school calendar
· support the co-ordination of CSPE by, for example, providing opportunities for team planning in line with that provided for other subjects
· promote awareness of CSPE by informing parents of incoming First Year students about it and by celebrating the work done in CSPE e.g. the Action Projects undertaken
· ensure that CSPE features in in-house school examinations and Parent-Teacher meetings, and that it appears on the school prospectus, student timetables and student report forms alongside other subjects
· encourage actively the establishment of a Student Council within the school (see Section 27 of the Education Act, 1998).
Please bring this circular to the notice of the teachers concerned, and to the notice of parent and teacher representatives as appropriate, for transmission to individual parents and teachers.
Brigid McManus
Secretary General. June 2005